7 Things You May Not Know About The Incomparable Grace Mugabe

A dissertation for a PhD she has still does not exist.
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Zimbabwe's First Lady, Grace Mugabe.
Philimon Bulawayo / Reuters

It appears it's not the first time the first lady of Zimbabwe, Grace Mugabe, has come under the spotlight for assaulting someone.

She allegedly beat up a 20-year-old model in Sandton at the weekend. Since the incident made headlines, there have been conflicting reports on Mugabe's whereabouts. A report on Wednesday by News24 states she returned to Zimbabwe on Tuesday at a time when she was expected to face justice in South Africa. EWN, meanwhile, reports that it had reliably learnt on Wednesday that Mugabe was still in the country.

Back in 2009, she reportedly attacked a photographer in Hong Kong. She was not charged due to diplomatic immunity -- something South Africa's international relations department says she is unlikely to receive.

But besides the assault cases, the first lady is well known for her expensive taste -- which earned her nicknames such as 'Gucci Grace' and 'The First Shopper.' But that's not all there is to the 52-year-old.

Here are lesser known facts about Grace Mugabe:

1. She was born in Benoni, Johannesburg, in 1956 and her family lived in South Africa until 1970.

2. A secretarial course helped her secure a job at the presidential office in 1980. It is reported that she had an affair with Mugabe while working as a secretary.

3. She was previously married to an air force pilot from Zimbabwe, with whom she has a son.

4. She was 31 when she married the president, and he was 72. Mugabe's late wife, Sally Hayfron, had passed away four years earlier.

5. A dissertation for a PhD degree she has still does not exist. In September 2014, the University of Zimbabwe granted her a doctoral degree in sociology, a mere two months after she enrolled for the program.

6. She and her husband own one of the largest dairy farms in Southern Africa, second only to one in the Republic of South Africa

7. She is under personal sanctions from the European Union and the United States. It is believed this was a deliberate attempt to stop the first lady's lavish spending in European capitals, while Zimbabweans suffer.